Louver structure for air coolers



June 19, 1951 A. D. GOETTL 2,557,502

LOUVER STRUCTURE FOR AIR COQLERS Filed May 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUVER STRUCTURE FOR AIR COOLERS Adam D. Goettl, Phoenix, Ariz.

Application May 10, 1949, Serial No. 92,415

3 Claims; I

The installation of air coolers has been, heretofore, largely made without the use of louvers in the exit ends of conduits through which air enters; or if louvers were used they were of the stationary type wherein the direction of the air leavin the conduit was fixed at the time of installation. Movable louver slats such a have been used heretofore in some instances but ineach case, so far as I have been able to ascertain, the louver slats have consisted of metal strips with plural folds, or composite metal sheets, provided with pins or shafts and bearings at each end so that each slat could be rotated on a longitudinal axis. All these types previously used are costly, unusually cumber some and heavy, and inefiicient.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide' a louver structure" which may be cheaply and easily manufactured and installed, and which, at the same time, is sturdy, rigid, and has a neat, pleasing appearance.

Another object is to provide a louver structure which will be free from vibration or noise from moving parts when placed at the exit of ducts", or the like, through which air at a considerable" velocity is driven; f

Another object is to provide a louver structure which is adapted to direct air currents into a room in either a horizontal or Vertical plane;

Still another object is to provide a; louver structure wherein the slats can be turned to any desired angle in order to direct or disburse the air stream, flowing therethrough as desired, without the use of shafts, bearings, or the like;

A still further object is to provide a louver slat composed of a single thickness of metal having a minimum of fabrication and with'pliant end supports which may be bent and rebent a large number of times to secure angular adjustment.

The invention contemplates the construction of louvers which may be installed directly on the vents of cooler blowers" or on extensions added thereto without special forming or fitting of the metal parts; and which may also be added to the outlet vent of disk fan coolers without altering the cooler case structure, and without special fabrication or fitting of parts.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

I attain the foregoing objects byineans" of the devices and construction of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a conduit or duct having a louver of the type herein concerned;

Figure 2, an elevational section thereof taken on line 2--2, Figure 1;

Figure 3, a detailed view of the supporting collar, drawn on an enlarged scale;

Figure 4, a detailed view of the collar with a slat and the moulding added and drawn on an enlarged scale; I

Figure 5, same showing the slat reversed to secure clearance for disk' fan;

Figure 6, a plan View of a louver slat;

Figure 7, an edge view of a louver slat; H

Figure 8, a section of louver taken on line 8-8, Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of fragmentary portions of a louver slat and a supporting collar side, showing the twist given the slat end when the louver is rotated;

Figure 10, a section elevation of installation with an extension duct through a window; and

Figure 11, front View of installation on a disk fan.

Similar numerals refer to siiniliar parts in the several views;

The louver 2 is composed, in general, of slats 3 held in a slotted collar 4' and secured by a" moulding frame 5. I

More specifically, the slotted collar 4 is made of four lengths of sheet metal folded at l to provide flat attaching plates" 8, and outwardly extending flange plates 9. Plates 8 afford means for attaching the collar by spot Welding, or the like, around an opening I2 in the front panel M of a cooler boX, or any plate of a duct or conduit from which ventilating air is forced. The side, top, and bottom parts of this collar are made the same and at regular intervals along the outer edges ll! of plates 9, notches l5 are cut to an even depth. These provide means for receiving the ends of the louver slats 3 so that they may be held as explained below.

The louver slats 3 are made of a single thickness of metal strip. To secure longitudinal stiffness and aid in directing air currents they are pressed to have an arcuate cross section I6 as shown particularly in Figure 8. The ends of each slat are provided with twistable supporting tongues 18. To form these tongues the material adjacent the front edge 20 and near each end is rounded to the rear at 2| to meet the front edge 22- of tongue l8. Conforming somewhat to the arc of curve 2| but with an arc of greater radius, the rear edge 24 curves forwardly at 25 adjacent each end. A longitudinal slot 2'! is then out between the forward' terminus of curve 25 and the rear edge 29 of tongue l8.

Slot 21, which may be termed a twist relief slot, has approximately the same depth from the outer terminus of curve 25, inward as the length of tongue I8 has from the outer terminus of curve 2|. When the tongue i8 of any slat is inserted in any collar notch I5, and the central portion of the slat rotated, the tongue twists and the slat maintains the resultant rotational position attained by the twist. Since the twisting stress is applied to both edges of the tongue, and since the tongue fits snugly in each slot the twist 30 given the tongue would soon fatigue the metal of the tongue unless some relief were provided to spread the twist over a longer length than between the end of curve 21 and the edges of notch l5. By providing the relief slot 21, the twist along the rear edge of the tongue is distributed over a much greater length than it is along the front edge of the tongue and therefore serious fatigue of the metal of the tongue is avoided. I have found that, so far as adjusting the angles of the louver slots is concerned, slats made of any reasonably good metal may be twisted indefinitely, without showing any appreciable breaks at the tongues. Since, when once installed, the directive slats of cooler ventilating louvers are not often changed, there is no need for shafts and bearings, but the twistable louver supporting tongues are entirely adequate for the purposes intended.

According to this invention both sides, and bottom of the collar 4 are provided with equally spaced notches l5, and slats 3 are secured by tongues is in oppositely positioned notches. The distances between notches are optional and are related to the depth of the slats. The slats may, by this construction, be positioned to extend either horizontally or vertically, and at any angle necessary to direct air flowing through the louver to the right or left, or up or down.

A simple illustration is shown in Figure 1.

This is appropriate whenever air under considerable pressure is to be distributed. If the louver is to be applied to a disk fan cooler where the forward edges of the blades [9 must extend beyond the edge 46 of the front panel 32 of the cooler case, as shown in Figures 5 and 11, the louver slats may be reversed so that their forward edges are toward the fan and their rear edges are outward. It is to be understood that the tongues [8 of each slot are offset somewhat forward of the longitudinal center of the slats to secure this advantage. When installed in this manner the otherwise rear edges 24 of the slats protrude outward from the collar somewhat. In order to finish the louver, and after the slats are in place, as desired, the moulding frame 5 is added. This is made of four pieces of metal, each pressed to give a fiat base surface 3'5, an angular outwardly and inwardly extending intermediate portion 36, and a flat collar clamp 3'! having a small inwardly extending stiffening bead 3B. These pieces are joined at their ends to form a square or rectangular frame which is fitted over the collar 4 so that the outer edges of the tongues l8, as they rest in collar notches l5, are pressed inwardly by the plate portions 31. To make this action more effective a strip of rubber 39 is fitted into and under each clamp portion. The rubber presses firmly against the outer edges ID of the collar and the tongues in the slots therein. This frame is secured to the cooler or duct panel 14 by screws 40.

Where a cooler is to be installed outside a window as shown in Figure 10, a short collar or extension duct 42 is fitted over the cooler collar,

43, at the outside, and provided with a plate 44 at the inside which has a collar 4 fixed on its inner face, which is finished as above explained. This installation illustrates the flexibility of this type of structure and its adaptability to various conditions.

Having now fully described my invention and explained its uses, I wish to be limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Louver construction for cooler vents, comprising in combination, a rectangular collar composed of four oppositely positioned perimeter pieces having evenly spaced notches alon their outer edges; slats, having mid-portions with arcuate sections, twistable tongues formed at their ends, and twist relief slots formed adjacent one side of each of said tongues, installed in parallel relation in said collar with their said tongues inserted in alined notches in opposite perimeter pieces of said collar; a securing frame conforming to the length and width of said collar, having a base plate for attaching to the face of a duct having an opening over which the louver is to be installed, an intermediate outwardly extending portion, and a rigid clamp plate; and a rubber cushion fitted under said clamp plate and adapted to bear on the outer edge of said collar, when said securing frame is secured over said collar, to hold said slat tongues in said collar notches.

2. Louver construction for cooler vents, comprising in combination, a rectangular collar having outwardly extending edges notched at regular intervals to receive slat tongues, and a peripheral attaching flange; slats longitudinally stiffened by an arcuately formed section, having twistable tongues at each end, installed in parallel relation in said collar with their tongues inserted in alined notches in opposite edges of said collar; and a mold frame for securing said slats in place in said collar having a flat base at its perimeter, an angularly outwardly extending intermediate portion converging from said base toward a collar clamp, and a fiat collar clamp portion forming the inner edge of said mold frame fitted over said outwardly extending collar edge, provided with an inwardly extending stiffening bead.

3. Louver construction for cooler vents, comprising in combination, a rectangular collar having outwardly extending edges notched at regular intervals to receive slat tongues, and a peripheral attaching flange; slats longitudinally stiffened by an arcuately formed section, having twistable tongues at each end, installed in parallel relation in said collar with their tongues inserted in alined notches in opposite edges of said collar; a mold frame for securing said slats in place in said collar having a flat base at its perimeter, an angularly outwardly extending intermediate portion converging from said base toward a collar clamp, and a flat collar clamp portion forming the inner edge of said mold frame fitted over said outwardly extending collar edge, provided with an inwardly extending stiffening bead; and a rubber strip compressed between the collar clamp portion of said mold frame and the outer edges of said collar.

ADAM D. GOETTL.

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